Fitchburg recycle chief: City can do better

FITCHBURG -- Driving down most streets in the city, Public Health Director Stephen Curry finds numerous violations of the curbside collection program that was instituted in July.

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While the tote program has been successful at reducing trash tonnage and increasing recycling dramatically since its inception, there are still some residents who either don't know or don't understand the rules -- or simply don't care, he says.

A quick drive through the city Friday morning found several examples of how the program should not work.

n On Cedar Street, a three-family home was using only two sparsely filled recycling carts and three trash totes, one of which was overflowing with trash -- largely items that could be recycled.

n On Johnson Street, a two-family home filled its recycling bins with mixed trash and recyclable items, stacking more trash on top of them, while its two trash bins sat empty away from the curb.

n On Blossom and Mechanic streets, some residents chose not to use the carts at all, leaving bags on the curb. In many instances, pieces of furniture and old televisions -- neither of which are taken during regular trash pickup -- littered sidewalks and front yards.

n In other areas, residents had their recycling bins out on the wrong pickup week, as designated by the color of the lid.

"And these aren't even the worst of it," Curry said, noting that there tend to be many more violators on Thursdays, especially in the college neighborhood and on Myrtle Avenue.

Curry is hoping instances such as these will be fixed by a recycling-enforcement officer, a position for which he has secured a grant to fill. The $47,900 grant, from the state Department of Environmental Protection, would cover a full-time position for one year.

Given the City Council's concerns with taking on the additional benefits associated with a full-time employee -- as well as the city's potential inability to continue to pay that person after the funds run out, resulting in unemployment costs as well -- Curry is trying to get the DEP to agree to change the grant to cover a part-time position for two years.

So far, he said, it seems to be working out well, but he needs to have somebody hired by July to spend the funds by November 2015, the time required by the grant.

Currently, those in violation of the curbside collection program will have their bins rejected from being picked up, with stickers left on them explaining why.

For those failing to use the bins, violation notices are sent, notifying the resident they have 24 hours to remove their trash from the curb or face fines or court action, Curry said.

After that, if the resident still does not comply, the city hires a contractor to remove the trash and then sends the bill to the resident or homeowner. If it remains unpaid after 30 days, the amount turns into a lien on the property, plus any fees or surcharges related to recording and releasing the lien at the Registry of Deeds, Curry said. That lien stays with the mortgage until it gets paid, he added.

A recycling-enforcement officer would contact each resident in violation and work with him on a plan to reduce the amount of trash he produces and encourage recycling, Curry said, as well as educate the general populace about the program.

Since the inception of the tote program, trash produced by city residents has been reduced by more than 2,000 tons, and recycling has more than doubled, he said.

Using the most recent figures he had, from July through November, solid waste for the first half of fiscal 2013 came to about 4,116 tons, which Curry estimated would rise to about 5,000 including the month of December. That's nearly 2,300 fewer tons than the city produced in the same period last year, he said.

At the same time, single-stream recycling has increased from 642 tons in the first half of fiscal 2012, to about 1,219 tons from this past July through November alone -- more than double and still a month to account for, Curry said.

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